Rylo Rodriguez

Emerging from Mobile, Alabama, rapper Rylo Rodriguez first gained attention for his inventive sample flipping, incorporating elements from mellow R&B tracks, guitar loops, and even a Mariah Carey song for the instrumentals of his earliest material. Affiliations with rappers like NoCap and Lil Baby took Rodriguez's music to an expanded audience, and he signed on with Lil Baby's Four Pockets Full label for the release of his 2020 debut studio album, G.I.H.F. Rodriguez was born Ryan Adams in 1993 and grew up in a housing project in Mobile, being cared for by his grandfather. The environment of the projects would have an impact on his music early on, with lyrics centering around the struggles and hustles of his surroundings. Along with intense lyrics about personal struggles, Rodriguez's earliest tracks got attention for their smart beat flipping. 2019's "Project Baby" used the instrumental from Mariah Carey's tender ballad "Always Be My Baby" as the backdrop for stories about life in the hood, and its video was viewed over ten million times in its first year. Some of Rodriguez's other early songs used samples from Tamia and Leon Bridges. In 2019, he released Rogerville, a collaborative mixtape made with fellow Alabama rapper NoCap, and also had several songs featuring appearances by Lil Baby, who was enjoying massive mainstream success at the time. These connections brought Rodriguez to more listeners, and in November 2020 he released his debut album, G.I.H.F. (short for "Goat in Human Form"). The set featured cameos from Lil Baby, Yo Gotti, Jackboy, and others and climbed into the Top 50 of the Billboard charts. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi